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South Tyneside International Magic Festival
March 2018
Philip Partridge (Magic Philip)
I had the pleasure and honour of performing and lecturing on Children’s
Magic. It was extra special since I was celebrating 20 years as a full-time
entertainer. The local press had a nice little story:
www.bdaily.co.uk.
I travelled up with my convention buddy, fellow children’s entertainer Paul
Storey, who helped me on the lecture/performance day. The journey flies by when
you have someone to chat to. We arrived the day before the official start and
managed to see a great family magic show put on by the council. Wanda, the
female children’s entertainer, stood out for me since I had never seen her
before. Graeme Shaw of Magic Box with illusions and the maestro of children’s
entertainers Gary Dunn also performed.
I could relax after my involvement on Friday morning and enjoy the convention. I have attended twice before and I would definitely recommend it. 15th-17th March 2019 will be its 16th year; there is a FB group for the event – just search for ‘South Tyneside International Magic Festival’. It has a maximum of 150 delegates, so you have the opportunity to see all events up close and chat to the performers and lecturers.
The highlight for me was chatting to Ben Earl and Andi Gladwin at 2am (those who know me well know I don’t normally stay up past midnight!). I anticipated the convention would be card-trick-heavy (this is not always the case), due to the fact three highly skilled Spanish magicians had been booked: Woody Aragon, Juan Luis Rubiales (MCM past lecturer) and Javi Benitez. I was right, but it did not spoil my enjoyment of the convention. Non-card lecturers included the Swedish magician Tom Stone, who explained in detail his Benson Bowl Sponge Ball routine and 'Do as I Do' Silk to Egg. Mark James was a true pro and battled through illness to host a fab Q&A with Jamie Raven and to compère 2 gala shows effortlessly. Javi Benitez got great audience reactions from his performance of Slydini’s Untying Knots on video screen with superb facial expressions from his teenage helper. In his lecture he performed a novel version of Gypsy Thread, which is available to purchase. He has recently fooled Penn and Teller. Steve Gore, the convention magic booker, performed his new family illusion act Genetics.
Paul and I will be attending The Southport British Ring convention from Thursday 6th September to Sunday 9th September. Manchester Circle of Magicians' members already booked to perform/lecture are: Quentin Reynolds, Darren Mac, Alexander Wells and Aaron Calvert. Have you considered entering the close-up or stage competition?
© Philip Partridge, March 2018